Starting Out As The God of Beasts

The first rays of the evening sun had barely pierced the dusty sky of Yeren City when the Chamber of the Four Governors was thrown into an uproar.

The tranquil, temperature-controlled luxury of the high administrative court was shattered by the arrival of a blood-choked tactical report from the lower rings.

The four rulers sat upon their respective elevated daises, their faces hardened into expressions of absolute, icy gravity as an elite Leopard-kin scout knelt on the dark malachite floor, trembling beneath their combined pressure.

”Speak plainly, tracker,” Governor Corin of the United Leopard-kin Army ordered, his slitted amber eyes narrowing as his fingers tightened on the hilt of his ceremonial scimitar.

”My patrol captains say you found a slaughterhouse in the eastern red light district.”

”It... it was an absolute execution, General,” the tracker swallowed hard, his voice echoing off the vaulted glass dome. ”Three bodies were discovered stuffed behind a clay warehouse in a dead-end alley. Two Orc vanguard scouts and one hulking Ogre mercenary.”

He paused for a second, ”Three were registered under a eastern merchant caravan, but their gear... their gear was high-grade military brass from Norona City. They were deep-cover infiltrators from the Western Coalition.”

A cold, heavy silence dropped over the chamber.

The presence of the Troll King’s spies within Yeren’s walls was an open secret, but their sudden, quiet erasure was a massive geopolitical shift.

”What does the forensic mana-scan show?” Governor Vance of the United Shark-kin Trade Syndicate rumbled, his gills pulsing with irritation as he leaned forward from his watery, humid dais.

”An Ogre brawler doesn’t go down without tearing down half a city block. Who saw the fight?” he said.

”That is the crisis, High Treasurer,” the tracker stammered, looking up with a pale face. ”No one saw anything. No one heard a single scream.”

”No one?” Governor Kaelen asked,

”Yes” the tracker nodded, ”The local watchmen were patrolling barely fifty paces away and noticed absolutely nothing. But the physical evidence left behind... it proves there was a struggle.”

”The Ogre’s massive iron cleaver was found on the ground, and the brickwork shows heavy scuff marks where his weight shifted violently, as if he was trying to thrash against a phantom.”

Governor Sorsha of the United Hawk-kin Enforcers stood up on her high white sandstone pillar, her majestic, steel-tipped wings expanding slightly in deep frustration.

”My aerial marksmen scanned the spiritual residual trails the moment the bodies were reported,” Sorsha reported, her golden-ringed eyes flashing with a dangerous light.

She laidback on her seat ”The killer cannot be traced. The essence used to execute them left no standard elemental footprint. No fire, no lightning, no typical martial intent.”

She paused for a second, ”The two Orcs were neutralized with terrifying, surgical precision—one throat-slit and one brain-piercing needle.”

”The Ogre was taken down from behind, his dantian pulverized by a single, flawless strike.”

”An invisible blade,” Governor Kaelen of the United Rhino-kin Guilds grunted, his massive ivory horn pulsing with a dull earth-element light.

”A high-tier phantom assassin operating right under our noses.”

”It’s not just an assassin,” Corin corrected smoothly, his tail twitching with tactical calculations. ”To suppress an eight-foot Ogre’s ability to channel his mana core or even let out a warning roar requires an artifact or a skill that actively manipulates local data laws. It’s an information lockdown.”

The four governors looked at one another, the same realization reflecting in their varying gaze.

The timing was entirely too perfect to be a coincidence.

For weeks, the western spies had operated completely unbothered within the bazaars.

Then, a single, unregistered carriage drawn by twelve-legged Striggars rolls across the Hudeii Desert, carrying representatives from a newly reformed divine city—and within hours, the Troll King’s entire local network is systematically wiped out.

”The delegates of Tempest City,” Vance hissed, his razor-sharp teeth gleaming under the chamber lights. ”This ’Saint’ Jarden Rome and his inner circle is more dangerous than we imagined.” he exhaled a deep sigh.

”They didn’t just come here to negotiate trade with us. They came here to clear the board.”

”They are flexing their muscles,” Kaelen growled, smashing his massive fist against the stone armrest of his throne. ”They committed a triple assassination inside our sovereign walls to show us that our security is a joke to them.”

”Or,” Sorsha countered, her voice sharp and analytical as she looked down from her high perch, ”they did us a favor by removing the western rot before presenting their ultimatum.”

Her lips curled up, ”Either way, it proves one thing: they’re not only capable but relentles” she giggled, ”And their hate for Norona is real”

Corin leaned back into his obsidian platform, a grim, dangerous smile playing on his lips.

”They are playing a master-class game of chess. Let us head back into the accept the negotiation terms, give them what they want and see how the Apostle explains the sudden disappearance of our western guests.”

”He would probably ignore it” the Governor shrugged, ”If he wants our alliance against the Troll King, he’s going to have to show us exactly whose script is running this city.”

Meanwhile.....

The intense, oppressive heat of the Hudeii Desert finally broke as twilight surrendered to a cool, indigo evening.

Street lanterns crafted from brass and frosted glass flickered to life across the multi-tiered sandstone basin of Yeren City, casting a warm, amber glow over the bustling thoroughfares.

Stepping out of the heavy bronze doors of the Government House, he took a slow, deliberate walk through the evening streets, letting the vibrant, chaotic energy of the merchant hub wash over him.

Even at night, the grand marketplaces refused to sleep.

Nomadic beastmen gathered around roaring open fire pits, roasting desert game spiced with aromatic herbs, their laughter and guttural chatter competing with the distant, rhythmic clanging of Kaelen’s smelting pools.

High above on the minarets, the silhouettes of Sorsha’s Falcon-kin watchmen stood like silent sentinels against the twin moons, their sharp eyes scanning the shifting crowds below.

Yet, beneath the surface-level revelry, a distinct undercurrent of tension ran through the city.

Elite squads of Leopard-kin patrolmen moved through the main avenues with heightened urgency, their hands resting on the hilts of their blades.

Word of the silent massacre in the spice district had clearly reached the upper ranks of the military.

The board had been disrupted, and the four governors were scrambling to find the phantom hand responsible.

Amused by their frantic, blind search, he turned away from the crowded plazas and slipped back into the quiet, heavily guarded courtyard of the Oasis Grand Hotel.

The attendants bowed deeply, their eyes wide with reverence and a touch of fear as they quickly ushered him up the sweeping limestone staircase to our private luxury suite.

The moment he pushed the heavy mahogany door open, the faint, crisp scent of fresh ozone and metallic silver mana greeted me.

Roy was tracking the numbers of lives Alisa was taking thanks to his automatic soul conversion update.

He was gaining faith points per kills.

Alisa and Eurenia were already waiting for him inside the dimly lit, silk-draped living area.

Both of them had successfully returned from their respective shadow assignments, completely uninjured.

Alisa sat cross-legged on a velvet divan, casually wiping down a long, silver throwing needle with a silk cloth.

Thanks to Lord Varanus, she became the first S-class Void Stalking Rabbit-kin, a powerful Rabbit-kin species amongst her kind.

Her sleek, dark-grey leather armor was immaculate, showing absolutely no signs of the lethal dance she had executed in the back alleys just hours prior.

Her long Rabbit-kin ears twitched slightly as he entered, and she looked up, her normally soft features settling into a calm, professional expression.

The Phantom-Veil Dagger rested on the table beside her, its obsidian-glass blade completely clean, yet still subtly drinking the ambient candlelight.

Standing perfectly straight near the balcony doors was Eurenia.

The crimson-furred furred Wolf-kin radiated a completely transformed, dense atmosphere.

The raw, turbulent energy she had struggled with earlier was gone, fully replaced by the terrifyingly compressed, tranquil aura of a true Martial Master.

Her crimson tail flicked with a newfound poise, and her golden eyes locked onto me with a gaze of unyielding, absolute fanaticism.

”Welcome back, Master Jarden,” Alisa spoke smoothly, her voice carrying the detached satisfaction of a job well done.

She gestured slightly toward the dark alleyways visible through the window. ”I have completed the task you gave me, no one would be able to track down the assasin” a lopsided grin on her lips as she spoke.

”Good, not even the Government of Yeren could suppress the rumors from spreading” he grinned, ”What about you Eurenia?” he turned to face the Crusade Captain.

”Where you able to gather the informations we need?” he asked.

”Yes” Alpha Eurenia answered, a gentle smile written on her face, ”Our Church is growing quite famous here in the streets of Yeren. But no beastman is bold enough to pray to Lord Varanus” she explained.

”Why is that?” Alisa asked.

”Well the God of Beast’s religion hasn’t been approved by the Government so all are banned from praying to him”

”If we must expand the influence of the Church. We must bring the Government of Yeren City under our control”

”And besides.....It seems Norona City is making another move” she stated. ”Hmmm....” Roy’s gaze darkened.

”What are they scheming this time?” Alisa asked.

”A Troll General has been deployed to conquer the entirety of Hudeii Desert, this time, he leads an army of five thousand troops”

”The time for an all out war against Norona City and the Troll King is fast approaching”

”Good” Roy chuckled, his eyes flickered, ”This is what we need, the faster Norona moves”

”The quicker we destroy them. Let them come!”